Autistic students flourish in gardening program

Emily Congdon weeds in a small garden near Hendersonville High Wednesday. St. Gerard House, a nonprofit
organization that provides support and education for children and young adults with autism, recently started a new program,
“Feed the Need,” which allows students to learn about agribusiness - from growing produce and harvesting it to
selling it at local tailgate markets.

Published: Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 15, 2014 at 2:18 a.m.

While working together to water and weed plant beds, students of St. Gerard House's Feed the Need program are also getting hands-on vocational education, building socialization skills and gaining confidence.

In early March, the Feed the Need program for autistic young adults won The Children and Family Resource Center's $10,000 grant for its business plan, which was submitted in the Promise Competition and chosen during the Speak Out for Kids event held at Blue Ridge Community College.

The finalists shared their video pitch with the audience and answered questions from the judges, who reviewed their proposals. The audience voted for the winner via text messaging.

“It was just a really good feeling,” Chumley said. “There were a lot of really good programs that we were competing against.”

After more than a year of planning, Feed the Need has taken off in a garden across from Hendersonville High.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, students ranging in age from 14 to 28 come out to enhance their socialization and vocational skills.

“We practice what's called ABA therapy; it stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis, and it's one of two evidence-based procedures for dealing with autism spectrum the other being speech pathology,” Behavioral Technician Cliff Cowan said. “We try and adapt people to their environment and not the environment to people, if we do adapt environment to people, there's a plan to phase that out over time.”

Cowan said in practice, that means teaching students to perform tasks such as watering and weeding, then slowly stepping back and letting them work autonomously.

“I look at some of them and see the gains that they've made in just 10 weeks, and I mean, if they can make those kinds of gains in just 10 weeks, then give them a little while, a little time, and they can do it,” Chumley said. “They could be able to work at a grocery store or work at a gas station or something — something that gives them enough money to where they can be considered competitively employed. “

Chumley said that once students age out of high school, which in North Carolina occurs at age 22, those with autism they have very few options.

“It's a serious problem; I think the statistic is there are going to be 500,000 young adults with autism graduating from high school in the next decade and there's nowhere to go for them,” Chumley said. “What we're trying to do is catch them before they graduate, give them the skills and help them have more success once they graduate.”

Geralynn Dare is a habitational technician who has been working with Emily Congdon, 18, since the teen was 9 years old. Dare said she loves seeing how happy gardening makes Congdon.

“It's been really nice because she likes the gardening,” Dare said. “She really loves it, so she's pretty much happy here, and it's funny because she'll listen Sebastian (another student), and she just always kind of smiles.”

Cowan said he's been surprised by how interested the participants have been in doing tasks like watering and weeding, which may not seem very interesting.

Both Cowan and Chumley work fulltime at St. Gerard House on top of Feed the Need, and Chumley says their dedication comes from a passion they share for the program.

“Cliff is one of our Grotto teachers and I work in administration at the St. Gerard House, so this was more of something that came out of a passion,” Chumley said. “For me, I grew up gardening with my dad... It is a big undertaking, and we only get so much time with these guys, so a lot of work needs to be done behind the scenes to keep everything going, which is a challenge.”

Sebastian Pasapone, 28, said he likes being out in the garden. His favorite part is watering the plants. Pasapone says he has made a lot of friends in the Feed the Need program.

Chumley said he continues to be surprised by the advancement the program's participants have made, and is excited to watch the program grow.

For more information on Feed the Need or to apply for their summer program, contact Harlan Chumley at 693-4223 ext. 15 or visit www.stgerardhouse.com.

<p>While working together to water and weed plant beds, students of St. Gerard House's Feed the Need program are also getting hands-on vocational education, building socialization skills and gaining confidence.</p><p>In early March, the Feed the Need program for autistic young adults won The Children and Family Resource Center's $10,000 grant for its business plan, which was submitted in the Promise Competition and chosen during the Speak Out for Kids event held at Blue Ridge Community College.</p><p>The finalists shared their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgh4dZvse9M">video pitch</a> with the audience and answered questions from the judges, who reviewed their proposals. The audience voted for the winner via text messaging.</p><p>Feed the Need program's Managing Director Harlan Chumley said winning brought feelings of both surprise and relief.</p><p>“It was just a really good feeling,” Chumley said. “There were a lot of really good programs that we were competing against.”</p><p>After more than a year of planning, Feed the Need has taken off in a garden across from Hendersonville High.</p><p>On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, students ranging in age from 14 to 28 come out to enhance their socialization and vocational skills.</p><p>“We practice what's called ABA therapy; it stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis, and it's one of two evidence-based procedures for dealing with autism spectrum the other being speech pathology,” Behavioral Technician Cliff Cowan said. “We try and adapt people to their environment and not the environment to people, if we do adapt environment to people, there's a plan to phase that out over time.”</p><p>Cowan said in practice, that means teaching students to perform tasks such as watering and weeding, then slowly stepping back and letting them work autonomously.</p><p>“I look at some of them and see the gains that they've made in just 10 weeks, and I mean, if they can make those kinds of gains in just 10 weeks, then give them a little while, a little time, and they can do it,” Chumley said. “They could be able to work at a grocery store or work at a gas station or something — something that gives them enough money to where they can be considered competitively employed. “</p><p>Chumley said that once students age out of high school, which in North Carolina occurs at age 22, those with autism they have very few options.</p><p>“It's a serious problem; I think the statistic is there are going to be 500,000 young adults with autism graduating from high school in the next decade and there's nowhere to go for them,” Chumley said. “What we're trying to do is catch them before they graduate, give them the skills and help them have more success once they graduate.”</p><p>Geralynn Dare is a habitational technician who has been working with Emily Congdon, 18, since the teen was 9 years old. Dare said she loves seeing how happy gardening makes Congdon.</p><p>“It's been really nice because she likes the gardening,” Dare said. “She really loves it, so she's pretty much happy here, and it's funny because she'll listen Sebastian (another student), and she just always kind of smiles.”</p><p>Cowan said he's been surprised by how interested the participants have been in doing tasks like watering and weeding, which may not seem very interesting.</p><p>Both Cowan and Chumley work fulltime at St. Gerard House on top of Feed the Need, and Chumley says their dedication comes from a passion they share for the program.</p><p>“Cliff is one of our Grotto teachers and I work in administration at the St. Gerard House, so this was more of something that came out of a passion,” Chumley said. “For me, I grew up gardening with my dad... It is a big undertaking, and we only get so much time with these guys, so a lot of work needs to be done behind the scenes to keep everything going, which is a challenge.”</p><p>Sebastian Pasapone, 28, said he likes being out in the garden. His favorite part is watering the plants. Pasapone says he has made a lot of friends in the Feed the Need program.</p><p>Chumley said he continues to be surprised by the advancement the program's participants have made, and is excited to watch the program grow.</p><p>For more information on Feed the Need or to apply for their summer program, contact Harlan Chumley at 693-4223 ext. 15 or visit www.stgerardhouse.com.</p><p>___</p><p>Reach Bindewald at 694-7890 or renee.bindewald@blueirdgenow.com.</p>